Singapore's success is actually being hampered by their ridiculously bad social freedom. The only thing that Singapore has going is its high economic freedom couples with being a trading hub, and that's the source of its wealth. Hong Kong on the other hand has both economic and social freedom and is also a trading hub.

Having said that, all countries cannot be trading centres, as it would mean no country is a trading centre. So thinking that you can replicate Hong Kong's and Singapore's success elsewhere isn't that easy.

Singapore's success is actually being hampered by their ridiculously bad social freedom. The only thing that Singapore has going is its high economic freedom couples with being a trading hub, and that's the source of its wealth. Hong Kong on the other hand has both economic and social freedom and is also a trading hub.

Having said that, all countries cannot be trading centres, as it would mean no country is a trading centre. So thinking that you can replicate Hong Kong's and Singapore's success elsewhere isn't that easy.

Every country cannot be Norway either. But you could look towards them, much like you could look towards Hong Kong and Singapore. And I do agree about Hong Kong.

Chemists and similar who work within the oil industry in norway make ridiculous sums of money O_o

Yeah I know, I got a cousin who works for ExxonMobil, she makes quite silly amounts of money, she lives in Sweden, on the westcoast close to the border, but she spends about half the year in Norway(Bergen as base) on average. She worked for Rowan Drilling before that, also in Norway, she did some work in Scotland to, but mostly Norway. Awesome job if you are into that, or if you just want to make a lot of money. ;P

Last edited by Jackmoves; 2013-02-04 at 01:58 PM.

The nerve is called the "nerve of awareness". You cant dissect it. Its a current that runs up the center of your spine. I dont know if any of you have sat down, crossed your legs, smoked DMT, and watch what happens... but what happens to me is this big thing goes RRRRRRRRRAAAAAWWW! up my spine and flashes in my brain... well apparently thats whats going to happen if I do this stuff...

It doesn't encourage you to be the best though. You just try to "pass the test" and that's it.

I'll submit that everyone will deal with that differently, some people thrive under competition while others thrive under safety.

My point is, competition isn't necessarily the best method.

To declare that a personal, inner experience gives certainty about the workings of the universe is to assign far too much value to one’s subjective sense of conviction.
I’m not that arrogant.
The brain, marvelous instrument though it is, isn’t infallible. It can misfire, seize or hallucinate, and it can do so in a way that’s utterly indistinguishable from reality to the person experiencing it.

At least Norway look towards building an economy which will survive when the oil dries up.

Hong Kong and Singapore doesn't rely on a diminishing natural resource though. They got themselves locked up in the sweet spot as long as other countries go towards more economic regulation. Their only threat is other countries near them going free market.

Originally Posted by Dezerte

I'll submit that everyone will deal with that differently, some people thrive under competition while others thrive under safety.
My point is, competition isn't necessarily the best method.

It's not like you have to compete viciously to get employed in other sectors. You just need more than passing the tests.

Hong Kong and Singapore doesn't rely on a diminishing natural resource though. They got themselves locked up in the sweet spot as long as other countries go towards more economic regulation. Their only threat is other countries near them going free market.

It's not like you have to compete viciously to get employed in other sectors. You just need more than passing the tests.

Yea, but i dont know how much city states can be a guiding force for countries. I mean - Monaco is doing pretty well and so is the Vatican but its not really a great business model to follow :P

I am disappoint. I came into this thread expecting actual super models.

Lol, tough that to.

Also good read, should be mandatory for any whinny bitchy politicans and people who complain about our countries. Yes it can get better, but its already good.

FUEL ON FIRE TLDR: Denmark out of all scandinavien countries, Germany to, has the least reason for a person to work, as the media spins it (Old news really), cause of our big welfare to unemployed people.

One reason for WoW decline I often hear is that its an old game and naturally people get bored with it. But TV is much older and people still watch that. Surely if a thing you once enjoyed keept staying fun, you would still use it?

It's not like you have to compete viciously to get employed in other sectors. You just need more than passing the tests.

There is competition by default in the job market, there are fewer jobs available than there are willing people. So being guaranteed a job is a pretty big incentive.

To declare that a personal, inner experience gives certainty about the workings of the universe is to assign far too much value to one’s subjective sense of conviction.
I’m not that arrogant.
The brain, marvelous instrument though it is, isn’t infallible. It can misfire, seize or hallucinate, and it can do so in a way that’s utterly indistinguishable from reality to the person experiencing it.

I can only speak for Finnish universities, but you don´t exactly just pop out of them with a "free" degree. You really need to work for even the lowest grades. Anyone who can graduate from one is more than competent to be in his field.

I'm not quite sure what you're trying to get at here, but it seems like you think that getting into university would net you a decent job no matter your degree or quality. That is untrue, at least for Norway. University is tough, and so is the job market. Both Norway and Sweden has international job markets, meaning that you might be competing against Engineers for instance from other countries. Gone is the day when you only compete against your own "kind".

I would rather employ someone who has a degree, no matter whether his grades is sub-par, rather than someone who wasted 3 years of his life doing nothing except working on the local supermarket. One thing that is true in Norway, is that grades has very little to say when it comes to your future job. It is your personality and the way you're promoting yourself that would be getting you a job. For Engineers in Norway, only 1% of the employers finds grades to be important. That is rather significant, and I think this is what you're trying to get at here.

One thing you would need to consider is whether you're a practical or a theoretical person. Most of those who graduate with sub-par grades would actually tend to be the best persons for the job. Most of them are learning-by-doing, rather than being told what is good and what is bad and memorize that. I were an A-level student myself, and I've studied in Singapore and currently working on a second degree on the side. I've studied and worked with a ton of people who had rather poor grades, but they tend to surpass me in many fields even though my grades tell me I should be ahead. So what I'm trying to say is that grades is not everything. As long as you get the basics in, then the practical work will be your testing ground. You do not graduate as an engineer, you become one through work and time.

The problem with larger countries is that there's too much competition, and most of the time only grades will be your way to stand out. Therefore, those who do not have the "appropriate" grades would be thrown away. Which leads back to my earlier conclusion. You might end up with a theoretical person who have no knowledge as to how he would implement it. You might get lucky, and end up with a genius. As long as the company has the availability in order for people to actually adjust, then most people would be able to become the person the company wanted.

Norway is the leading business within pretty much everything regarding offshore operations (subsea and so on), including ship design and such. This knowledge and expertise was created through combining a large range of people from different background and grades and form something new and innovative. I could point out my little town, which has a mere 7000 inhabitants. From this tiny maritime cluster, you have the headquarter of companies like Rolls-Royce Marine and such. This was not created by the selective minded who only tend to look at your grades.

My experience so far in life is that grades is not everything. An interview would often show your strengths and weaknesses beyond your grades. Most jobs also has a 6-12 months trial period, within this period you'll have to show yourself. If you do end up being of no use to the company, there's no problem for them to just fire you.

Getting into university is another thing. There are rather high standards in order to get in.

There is a lack of Doctors, we get people from all over Europe coming here to work as doctors(some have to compliment their exams from their home country), as well as elswhere in the world, because we activly try to recruit since there is a domestic shortage. The last 15 years we have on average "imported" around 330 more doctors per year then what we have "exported", you are arguing against basic supply and demand, one of the core fundations of capitalism.

They are working on increasing the amount of qualified doctors by
A. recruiting from abroad
B. increase the number of open university spots
C. Get swedes to educate themselves abroad and come back home.

All these 3 methods work well for us but there is still a shortage atm.

Edit: And what Cata said.

Last edited by Jackmoves; 2013-02-04 at 04:49 PM.

The nerve is called the "nerve of awareness". You cant dissect it. Its a current that runs up the center of your spine. I dont know if any of you have sat down, crossed your legs, smoked DMT, and watch what happens... but what happens to me is this big thing goes RRRRRRRRRAAAAAWWW! up my spine and flashes in my brain... well apparently thats whats going to happen if I do this stuff...

When i say they are secured a job its not even totally correct. We are secured a job but the job is part of the education into a specialty. I believe its called "residency" in English. After that you are on your own i guess.